This invention relates to electronic tickets in electronic form into which various tickets of an event, a movie, a train, an airplane, etc., are converted, an electronic wallet for keeping the electronic ticket, an information terminal for storing the electronic wallet, an information providing apparatus for providing information for the information terminal, and an electronic ticket system comprising the components, and in particular to an electronic ticket provided with a function of receiving online information service.
Hitherto, the following has been known as a system for purchasing reserved seat tickets of various events, public performance, or conveyances:
FIG. 26 shows the configuration of a general system for purchasing reserved seat tickets (tickets) in a related art. A ticket issuing terminal 2602 for performing ticket issuing processing is installed in a ticket shop 2601 and is connected to a center system 2604 of a ticket issuer 2603 over a communication line 2605.
To purchase a reserved seat ticket of an event, a public performance, a conveyance, or the like, a personal consumer 2600 first goes to the ticket shop 2601, tells a salesperson that he or she wants to buy a ticket, and requests the salesperson to issue a ticket. At this time, the personal consumer 2600 can select the seat type (S grade seat, A grade seat, etc., on a concert); however, generally the ticket shop 2601 does not provide vacant seat information and thus often the personal consumer 2600 cannot select his or her desired seat.
Next, the salesperson of the ticket shop 2601 enters identification information of the desired ticket and the desired seat type in the ticket issuing terminal 2602 and performs the ticket issuing operation. The ticket issuing terminal 2602 transmits desired entry information (the identification information of the desired ticket and the desired seat type) to the center system 2604 of the ticket issuer 2603 over the communication line 2605. Upon reception of the information, the center system 2604 returns ticket information 2607 of the ticket of the desired type containing acquired seat information in the desired seat type to the ticket issuing terminal 2602. Generally, the center system 2604 often selects the seat acquired at the time from among vacant seats uniquely or at random.
The ticket issuing terminal 2602 prints the received ticket information 2607 on a specific pasteboard determined by the ticket issuer and outputs it as a ticket 2606 (2610). The salesperson of the ticket shop 2610 passes the issued ticket to the personal consumer 2600 in exchange for cash 2608 and terminates selling the ticket.
To enhance the added value of a ticket, for example, the ticket issuer 2603 attempts to construct a system wherein information concerning a ticket is open to the public on a home page on the WWW and URL information of the home page is described on the ticket for enabling the customer to receive the information providing service concerning the ticket.
In this case, however, any other person than the ticket purchaser would have access to the home page, and the effect of enhancing the added value of the ticket is not sufficiently produced.
Membership network service is known as information providing service aiming only at specific (ticket-purchasing) personal consumers with the described point remedied.
FIG. 27 shows the system configuration of general information providing service aiming at specific personal consumers. A service provider 2701, which is a provider for providing information service, is connected to an information server 2702 over a communication line 2705. The information server 2702 has a user management database 2703 and an information database 2704.
To receive membership information providing service, first the personal consumer 2700 requests the service provider 2701 to register a user ID and a password (2706). The service provider 2701 registers the user ID and the password in the user management database 2703 of the information server 2702 as the personal consumer 2700 requests (2707), and notifies the personal consumer 2700 that the user ID and the password have been registered (2708).
To receive information service, the personal consumer 2700 registering the user ID and the password accesses the information server 2702 and enters the user ID and the password (2709). The information server 2702 searches the user management database 2703 for the entered user ID and password. If the information server 2702 checks that the corresponding user ID and password exist, it searches the information database 2704 for information desired by the personal consumer 2700 and provides information service (2710).
However, the systems in the related arts involve the following problems:
(1) The personal consumer must go to the ticket shop to purchase a ticket or reserve a reserved seat and takes time and effort and cost;
(2) to receive information providing service aiming at specific (ticket-purchasing) personal consumers, the personal consumer needs to previously register authentication information of membership ID, password, etc., in the service provider. To receive service, the personal consumer needs also to enter the membership ID and the password each time; the operation is cumbersome.
(3) the service provider needs to provide a database, etc., for managing information of the registered membership IDs, passwords, etc., and thus must bear the high administration cost; and
(4) if another person knows the registered membership ID and password of one person, it is made possible for even a person purchasing no ticket to receive provided service.